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Locally yesterday the ASX200 closed 0.38% in the red with eight of the eleven industry sectors lower. Real estate was down the most, while materials, information technology and energy sectors were the only sectors to close in the green.

In US equities overnight, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq both reached record highs, as technology shares led markets, rallying after strong reports released from Salesforce and Marvell Technology. Tech shares saw the Nasdaq close 1.3% higher, the S&P500 gained 0.61%, while the Dow Jones gained 0.69% or 308 points to close above 45,000 for the first time ever.

European markets were mostly higher. The STOXX 600 up 0.37%, the German DAX up more than 1%, France’s CAC up 0.66%, while the FTSE 100 declined 0.28%.

What to watch today:

• The Australian market is set to open higher this morning, with the SPI futures suggesting a rise of 0.12% at the open.
• In economic data, the GDP growth rate was released yesterday, coming in slightly below expectations at 0.3% for the quarter. Today, Balance of Trade data for October will be released at 11:30am AEDT. The prior reading for September saw Australia’s trade surplus on goods declined, falling short of market expectations.
• In commodities,
• Crude oil is trading lower, settling at US$68.50 per barrel, reversing gains from a rise of 2.7% the previous session, as investors await an important OPEC _ decision on production policy. The decision on output cuts is expected to significantly sway prices.
• Gold is in the green as markets continue to assess the political and monetary outlook
• And iron ore is trading higher, supported by hopes that Beijing will introduce more stimulus measures during its political meetings this month.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter has initiated coverage of Integral Diagnostics (ASX:IDX). The merger between Integral Diagnostics and Capitol Health results in a diagnostic imaging company which operates 151 clinics throughout Australia. Bell Potter’s price target is $3.87 and at IDX’s current share price of $3.04, this implies 27.3% share price growth in a year.
• And Trading Central have identified a bullish signal on Australian Clinical Labs (ASX:ACL) indicating that the stock price may rise form the close of $3.63 to the range of $3.78 – $3.82 over 15 days, according to the standard principles of technology analysis.